CAFÉ ET AMOUR
by Ballyuk
Summary: A new set of forfeits gets Lois and Clark in competitive mode again, but can they last a whole week without the one thing they each crave the most? Sort-of sequel to 'A BET IS A BET', set after the future depicted in 10x04 (Homecoming). Please note that this is NC-17 because of graphic sexual content later in the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I do not own the characters. At first, it might look as though this is in the same vein as most of my other stories, but keep reading and following the narrative, and you will be rewarded. Please comment and review.**

* * *

 **CAFÉ ET AMOUR.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1.**

The office on the 20th floor looked as though a tornado had swept through it. Wherever one looked, files and paperwork were strewn about. It was almost impossible to tell where the desks stopped and the stacks of files started, or indeed remember what colour the carpet was. This was the base of operations for the Daily Planet's star reporting team - Clark Kent and Lois Lane, husband and wife, partners in crime. The names etched onto the glass in the door had Lois above Clark, a requested the feisty brunette had pestered anyone in charge of such matters to change despite alphabetical precedence holding sway. Kent might appear before Lane in the phone book but as the more experienced reporter, Lois believed her name should appear first, as it always did when they shared by-lines. Clark remained steadfastly non-committal because he enjoyed winding her up just as much as he did calming her down.

As the office had been spick and span when he'd left earlier in the morning, the current state confused him. Clark slowly called out to Lois as he closed the door.

"Lois?"

From somewhere in the vicinity of where he knew her desk was situated, he heard the muffled reply.

"Yeah. Oh come on, where did you get to?"

"Lois, I just had to run an errand on the far side of town, you know that! What's going on in here?"

With a heavy sigh, Lois popped up from beneath her desk looking fed up and frustrated. Her hair still had the neat up-do she usually wore these days, only this time a few strands had found their way down the side of her face, requiring her to try and blow them back. She peered up at Clark through the narrow lenses of her glasses, and looked for all the world as though she was about to point out the error of _his_ ways.

"Not _you_! The file with the poison pen letters to the Mayor. Another letter surfaced this morning and Perry's man at Met PD forwarded him a copy. I think there's a pattern in these letters and I just want to check it out but I can't find the file with the rest of them.

"We are _this_ close to cracking the mystery," she held her thumb and index fingers an inch apart on the word 'this' as she continued, "and finding out how and where our would-be assailant might strike. We can break the story before it even happens, and then the Mayor will _have_ to grant us a few privileges."

"Are you sure one of the interns didn't take it back to Archives?" asked Clark, knowing that it was unlikely.

Lois stood up, sweeping away the small creases that had formed on her black pencil skirt. Her outfit for today included a lemon yellow blouse with the buttons undone to just above her cleavage, as usual. Her matching black jacket was still hung up on the coat stand in the corner by the door. Her face had taken on a slightly rosy complexion from her exertions in overturning everything in the office, but it didn't matter. She was a vision that made Clark think things that would make a whore blush. He could visualise the glint in her eye, feel the hitch in her breath and smell the delicate aromatic scent of her skin. He couldn't focus on any of that right now as he'd just asked a question which she was no doubt about to answer.

"I didn't use an intern because Perry is keeping this one close. He's the one who got the tip-off in the first place, and he wants me to cover it. And now I can't find it."

Clark had just begun to start shifting the paperwork piled on his own desk when Lois piped up again.

"And to top it all off, the coffee maker's on the fritz. I might as well have been drinking ditch water." She waved her arms around before slapping her hands on her sides resignedly, further evidence of her growing frustration. "Can't you use your super eyesight to spot it?"

Clark smiled. "Lois, it doesn't work like that. I'm afraid I'll just have to join you in this search for the Holy Grail."

A knock on the door punctuated the conversation before Jeff Hage entered the office. The man was in his 20s but still had the youthful features and awkward gait of a teenager, and he was carrying a clipboard and the nervous smile he always reserved for a visit to the office of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. It was warranted on this occasion as he surveyed the papers strewn around the office - the Planet's power couple were working on something big. No longer a mere intern, Jeff had been a cub reporter for about eighteen months now after a spell away working for the Gotham Gazette. He now occupied the desk in the bullpen once used by Clark, and he'd been making a few waves at the Daily Planet in recent months.

"Hi Miss Lane, Kent. Do you guys have a minute?"

"Sure Jeff, what can we do for you?" Clark replied.

Jeff moved further into the office, taking care to avoid stepping on any paperwork. "Well as you know, the Planet collects for the homeless shelter every year. This year, we're asking for donations but with a difference. If you donate, you have to give up something for a whole week. Failure to complete your forfeit means you have to double your donation. No exceptions."

Clark moved over so he could see how much people were donating. As was the way with such things, the amounts being donated tended not to vary too much because nobody wanted to be seen to be flashing the cash or worse, a cheapskate. Most people were putting $20 down.

"I think we can manage twenty bucks apiece," said Clark, so Jeff started to write their names on the list. There was an extra column detailing what each person was giving up for the week. In most cases, it was simple things like smoking, drinking, chocolate or doughnuts. One person was giving up the use of their car.

"Great!" replied Jeff. "So what are you guys gonna give up?"

Clark glanced over to Lois with a smirk before turning to Jeff. "I think Lois is giving up coffee for a week."

Lois, who'd not really been giving the conversation her full attention as she continued to rummage for the missing file, caught that part as though she'd been blessed with super-hearing.

"That's some death wish you've got there, Smallville," she said, narrowing her eyes at Clark.

She moved away from her desk and slinked towards Jeff, unnerving both men - Jeff because he was still a little intimidated by Lois' forceful personality, and Clark because he was a touch fearful of what she might have in mind. She took the clipboard and pen from Jeff, quickly scrawled something down and then headed back to her desk with a sidelong glance at Clark that automatically suggested two can play that game. Clark was really worried now.

Jeff held the clipboard and looked at it. His face became bathed in a beetroot hue as all of a sudden he didn't know where to look. Clark took the clipboard to read it. Beside his name, Lois had written the word SEX in big block capitals. Clark's eyes went wide as his mouth opened, stunned. Lois simply carried on searching for her file as though nothing had happened. Then she spoke, smiling sweetly.

"Oh and Jeff? Nice work on making the front page yesterday. Who knows, if you keep that up, you'll be out of that bullpen in no time."

She knew Jeff was a bit scared of her and that he'd always had a bit of a crush on her, and she also liked how he lit up whenever she was nice to him or paid him a compliment, as though she'd made his day. It was no different here. Her opinion clearly mattered a lot to him.

"Thanks, Miss Lane!" he gushed liked a love-struck schoolboy.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's Lois."

"And I'll remember that next time, Miss Lane."

Clark was still stood in a stupor at what he'd been made to forfeit as Jeff exited the office.

"Clark," Lois' voice broke him out of his daze. "Are you gonna help me locate that file or not?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

"Close the door, Lane."

Perry White crossed back to his desk and sat down wearily. He'd only been in the office for an hour and already his forfeit was weighing heavily on him. It was Monday morning and he had to hold out until Friday, going the entire week without smoking. He'd only taken up the habit after being installed as the newspaper's editor. Prior to that, he'd only ever smoked occasionally. He wasn't a social smoker but rather one who turned to the cancer sticks in times of stress. Running the Daily Planet fell into that category, and then some.

Lois stood in front of his desk looking just as tired as Perry felt. Clark had done a number on her by making her forgo her beloved coffee. Her last caffeine hit had been after dinner the previous evening and she was getting withdrawal symptoms already. Perry had summoned her into his office for an update on the assignment he'd passed on to her the previous week. He wanted to be able to publish a piece as soon as possible.

"You know, Chief, you don't look so hot," Lois opined.

Perry ignored her use of the word 'Chief', a pet hate of his, and sighed again.

"I don't know, kid. These young whipper-snappers will be the death of me. They all think they can win a Pulitzer so they try to write entertaining stories but miss half the facts, and then complain when I shit-can their articles. I mean, for Christ's sake, how do you do a story on a plane crash and neglect to mention what type of aircraft or which airline was involved? All you're left with is an action scene starring that guy with the dirty vest…what's his face? That guy..."

"Bruce Willis?"

"That's the fella." He reclined back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. In mid yawn, he asked Lois, "Anyway, what are you giving up to help the homeless?"

"Coffee," she groaned.

"Uh oh, I foresee Mad Dog going on the rampage. I pity the poor bastard who gets in your way," said Perry, teasing.

Lois stifled a smirk while narrowing her eyes. Perry, along with Clark and sometimes Oliver, was the only one for whom she'd let little barbs like that slide. Her given nickname of Mad Dog was a bone of contention for her. It suggested a reputation for taking no prisoners which was handy when investigating, but she was aware that her reputation made people very guarded around her. She wasn't _that_ bad was she?

"I'm not looking forward to Cokes or god forbid, tea, for the next week. I might have to strangle somebody. Anyone you're thinking of firing?"

"Get outta here!" he grumbled good-naturedly.

"Right, Chief!" she replied with the cheekiest grin she could muster before leaving the office, and before Perry could pipe up again.

Perry would often admonish Lois for her cheek and casual insubordination but in reality, it was half-hearted. He admired her courage and dedication and he adored her wit and cheek. It kept him on his toes, which was necessary in his advancing years. He also thought the world of Clark, admiring his unfailing honesty and sense of civic duty. Very few young people put the good of the public ahead of their own success, but Clark was undoubtedly one of them. Perry was very protective of the two of them, and not merely because they were his star reporters.

Lois entered her office only to be greeted with the heady aroma of ground and roasted coffee beans being steeped in boiling water. Her office smelled like the counter at the Talon of bygone days. The culprit was her partner in crime, who was busy _very_ slowly pouring himself a steaming mug of Java from the now-repaired coffee maker. She stood beside the still open office door, watching him. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was pretending to ignore her presence and doing this on purpose. She continued to watch as he added one small container of milk followed by three sugars. He was making her preferred morning blend which included the milk. Afternoons and evenings were for black coffee. He stirred the mixture and it was now that she caught a glimpse of the mug between his fingers. It was her favourite mug - the one with the slogan set out like a newspaper headline: "LOIS LANE PUNCHES LIFE IN THE FACE!"

One hand on hip, she shut the door with a little excessive force to draw his attention. He turned to face her still holding the coffee. A little deflection to gauge her level of irritation was in order.

"How's Perry? I saw him giving the stink eye to the guys coming back from the roof."

Lois knew what he was trying to do, so instead she kept quiet and walked over to her desk, sitting down carefully to demonstrate that she wasn't bothered at all. Not fooled by her apparent nonchalance, Clark followed behind her and put the coffee down in front of her as he did on most mornings. She'd been stealing his coffee pretty much ever since they'd started working together and soon enough, he'd found out how she liked her morning coffee so had begun to make the coffee to her tastes, knowing she'd steal it anyway. She'd never said a word about it and neither did he, but she knew he was being nice and he knew she appreciated the gesture. Right now though, it was about avoiding the red mist.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Clark said in mock apology as he took the mug away again. "I forgot you can't drink this stuff."

Lois reached for a pen from her stationery pot, still trying to maintain a façade of nonchalance with Clark's attempts to wind her up.

"If you think this is getting to me Smallville, think again. I am calm. I am Zen."

Clark smiled before taking a noisy slurp of the coffee. He uttered a "Hmm," creasing his brow as if appraising the quality of his drink before sitting down at his desk. When Lois saw he wasn't looking, she ground her teeth together and let out the faintest huff. If Superman wanted war, so be it.

* * *

After lunch, they returned to the office as both were handling small assignments that had to be submitted by the end of the day ready for tomorrow's edition. Lois had found it surprisingly easy to do without coffee at lunch even though it was at a roadside café, but she needed to get back at Clark. Since she'd got to the office several minutes before him as he chatted to a colleague in the lobby, she closed the door, pulled up a chair to the air conditioning unit high up in the corner to turn it down to minimum. Clark probably wouldn't notice any difference in temperature, but she would. And that would need to be dealt with.

The afternoon continued much like any other when they were working on separate assignments. Lois would occasionally ask how to spell a certain word or they'd ask the other to look at something on their screen. They'd discuss dinner plans for later, or weekend plans from Thursday onwards. Clark had to leave the office twice - once to get an intern to head to Archives and dig up a report, and the other to make a save involving an overturned fuel truck down in Texas.

Lois was sipping from the cup of water she'd got from the cooler outside the office, and began to ramp up her revenge. Making sure she was in Clark's eyeline, she undid another button on her blouse, took off her glasses and ran the cup of water along her forehead. The office had indeed become very warm since she'd tampered with the AC and as expected, Clark hadn't noticed a change. She closed her eyes and exhaled, lifting her face up so her neck was exposed and also drawing attention to just above her cleavage. There was a very thin film of sweat building up.

Clark had only taken a split-second glance but it was enough to make him look again. This time he was staring as Lois fanned herself with her notepad. He involuntarily licked his lips at the sight of glistening skin and felt the beginnings of a stirring in his pants. Her chest moved as she continued to quietly exhale, turning him on even more. Clark had to distract himself with something else as soon as possible.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" Lois spoke up, making it sound like she was just thinking out loud rather than asking Clark directly.

Getting up as though his chair was on fire, he made up an excuse that required him to head down to the bullpen before almost sprinting out of the office. Lois smiled at her computer screen as she saw him leave, knowing she had got to him. Moving to reset the AC and make the office bearable again, she silently gave herself a round of applause. However, it was only Monday so there were four days of torture to go. A coffee would have eased the stress but coffee was a no-no.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3.**

The next day was extremely busy so Lois had no time to think about coffee. Clark was out chasing a source for another assignment so he had no time to think about what he'd like to do with Lois' body. As they lay in bed the night before, Lois had told Clark that giving himself a treat was also not allowed, making him blush. Neither was spooning, which made him shuffle back over to his side of the bed in disappointment. Knowing he would have to go without made him feel as though his balls were growing because his boxers felt tighter than they had before. There was no way to relieve the strain.

Not that it was all one-sided because when they were sat in front of the TV earlier that evening, he purposely left it on channels as they showed commercials for coffee houses or instant coffee. At one point, he even left it on the channel that showed reruns of _Friends_ on loop, and many of the scenes were at the Central Perk. Lois could almost smell the aroma of fresh latte and cappuccino coming from those giant cups the characters always drank from. Clark's offer to fetch them both some hot chocolate and churros as a conciliatory gesture was met with short shrift.

He didn't let up the next morning at work, regaling Lois on the curious creature known as the Asian palm civet, or _luwak_. Reading up on it, he began chuckling which got Lois' attention.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I'm just reading about these civet cats from South East Asia."

"What about 'em? Are you writing an article?"

"No, it's just about what they do with them. In some parts of Indonesia, they keep these civets in cages like pets, feeding them coffee cherries. They only eat the very best cherries and they can't digest the whole thing, but their digestive juices react with the inner bean as it passes through, and the defecated beans are harvested by the farmers, washed and then roasted. The result is the most expensive coffee in the world - kopi luwak. Over two thousand dollars a kilo in some places."

"It sounds disgusting. Why exactly are you telling me this, Clark?" Lois remarked.

Clark smirked at his computer screen. "No reason, just thought you might like to know, that's all."

Lois scowled at him from behind her screen. "You really think this is getting to me, don't you?"

"Maybe," he teased. "Oh, and by the way, you're not allowed to have that mocha latte ice cream you like so much either."

He heard her snort of derision but he knew she'd been more than a little bit irked by that. He was playing her at her own game and she didn't like it. Payback was in order, and as they say, payback's a bitch.

* * *

For Lois, the day was much the same as the previous day, although she did manage to piece together the meaning behind the poison pen letters. The sender had been cutting words out of Daily Planet articles to construct what at first glance was a garbled message but Lois wasn't going to give up easily. The most recent letter contained the phrase 'Blaze no fire'. It looked cryptic but this made her wonder if somebody was threatening to actually start a fire either at City Hall, or at the Mayor's exclusive apartment residence downtown, or maybe at his country residence, or maybe even one of his company's warehouses on the outskirts of Metropolis. There was also a cut-out of the Mayor's head, clearly taken from a newspaper photograph.

Lois asked one of the interns to check for any recent articles involving the Mayor in the Archives. Nowadays, all Daily Planet articles were digitised but still required time to trawl through, and that was time Lois didn't have, hence the intern. It was mid-afternoon when the intern came back to Lois and Clark's office with a stack of printouts. The first thing Lois did was to look at all the photographs featuring the Mayor in these articles, and it wasn't long before one jumped out. The Mayor was shaking hands with the owner of a construction firm that had built a new high rise called Metropolis Heights downtown. The building housed offices, condos, a shopping mall, bars, restaurants and clubs. The cut-out had been taken from this photograph.

The building's web page gave more details about the businesses operating on site, one of which was a nightclub called Ice. Another quick search and it emerged that the club was one of many owned by a mysterious entrepreneur called Angelica Blaze. Part of the conundrum was solved. 'No fire', therefore Ice. Lois called her contact at City Hall, learning that the Mayor was scheduled to appear at Ice on Saturday night as the venue was hosting an exclusive gala. Ms Blaze was going to be there too so Lois felt it unlikely she'd be doing anything to harm the Mayor or destroy her own nightclub.

She perused through the previous letters which included what appeared to be sequences of codes. If it involved chemical compounds, it could only be a bomb of some description. The detectives at Met PD were already investigating into that possibility as well as any fingerprints and DNA from the original letters, but she needed to check in with Perry. There was one little thing that was bothering her. Why there?

Flicking through the stack of printouts didn't glean anything which might stand out at first, other than a fluff piece about the opening of the high rise, at which the Mayor was present but not in his capacity as Mayor. It would be another year before he'd be elected to office.

Opening the building's web page again, she checked the link which gave details about when the place had been built and the construction company behind it. Cross-checking alongside an internet search, it transpired that the company had been awarded the contract ahead of a smaller rival which had been the front runner right up to the eleventh hour. The committee making the final decision was headed by the man who was soon to be Mayor, and the smaller company was taken over by its larger rival about six months later, with all assets subsumed and thousands of people laid off.

There was a very high degree of possibility that a disgruntled former employee had an axe to grind with the Mayor. It wasn't a new scenario for Lois as it brought to mind a name from years gone by - Winslow Schott, aka Toyman - who'd had an agenda against Oliver Queen and Queen Industries. A dangerous mind with motive was a real threat. She had to speak to Perry to discuss how to proceed, as the bones of an article formed in her mind.

* * *

Lois knocked on Perry's door, not waiting for a reply before walking in. He'd just finished talking on the phone. The irritation on his face was either due to that conversation over the phone or his inability to satisfy his nicotine craving. He didn't look all that pleased to see anybody.

"Lane, what do you have for me?"

"Chief," she began, "I think we might just have cracked the where, the when and the why, and possibly the how. The detectives at Met PD can figure out the whom and chase their leads."

"OK, spill."

Lois walked around to Perry's side of the desk and placed the file in front of him, opening it up to the most recent entry, starting to expound her theory on what she believed was being said in the letters. Perry placed a call to his detective friend at Met PD who was in charge of the case. The detective came over to Perry's office within twenty minutes and the three of them discussed the findings and how to proceed. A security team would go to Metropolis Heights and, as discreetly as possible, check the premises for explosives, bomb equipment and so on. The gala event would be cancelled and the Mayor informed.

"Can you get me a draft by the end of the day," Perry requested. "We'll check that it holds up, make any adjustments and get it out for the next day's edition. Good job, kid."

Lois nodded before heading back to her office. The draft was submitted within the hour.

* * *

It felt like a red wine kind of evening. Lois' usual routine after coming home was to check her messages and turn on the coffee maker, but to her increasing displeasure she had to source an alternative form of liquid sustenance for a few more days. The bottle of red in the little wine rack beside the fridge was calling out to her so she popped the cork and poured herself a glass. There were no messages save for the usual couple of junk calls, and Clark was out fetching a few groceries.

The apartment was much larger than the one they'd moved into when they'd originally set up residence in Metropolis. Oliver had helped them to secure financing at very favourable rates which meant they could now buy a place in a nice neighbourhood, with better security and more space. There were two large bedrooms - the master bedroom including an en suite - plus a second bathroom just off the main hall. The en suite bathroom had a fairly large bathtub with shower whereas the other bathroom had a walk-in shower. Otherwise, they were more or less identical. The decent sized kitchenette with adjoining dining area plus a spacious open-plan lounge completed the tour. Their apartment was on the more secluded side of the building so Clark's frequent flying entries and exits would not be noticed by anybody.

Lois wasn't normally one for bubble baths but the extra endeavour on her article plus the lack of caffeine had left her jaded. She needed to unwind. She also needed to get her own back at Clark for taunting her about coffee and denying her the simple pleasures of a good mocha latte ice cream. Grinning impishly, she hatched a plan.

They had a number of scented candles around the apartment, mostly from 'Thank You' gift baskets since neither Lois nor Clark were the type to buy scented candles themselves. Lois drew herself a bath, pouring bubble bath in as the hot water steadily filled the tub. Shifting the tiny table unit from under the sink to use as a table, she placed her wine glass and bottle beside the tub. Dotting a few scented candles around the en suite, she lit them to create something resembling an ambient atmosphere. There was a dimmer switch in the en suite - maybe the previous owners liked their romantic moments - so Lois turned the light down to a level that suited the ambience. Just as the water reached up to the desired level, she turned off the water. It felt like it was at just the right temperature to soak in, with a nice thick layer of suds floating on the top.

Finally, she stripped off and tossed her clothes into the hamper before slipping into the tub. The stress of the day and the irritation over a lack of caffeine simply ebbed away as she closed her eyes. This was bliss.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been in the bath when she heard Clark announce he was back home. She called out that she was in the bathroom, and heard his footsteps on the hardwood floors as he began putting the groceries away. Before long, he was knocking on the door so she invited him in.

Clark stopped just inside the door as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the candles flickering away, the scent catching in his nostrils and the steam rising up from the tub. There was Lois lying back with the water covering her just above her chest, lit almost entirely by candlelight, making her skin looked delectably tanned. Candlelight had a way of softening her facial features even further.

"Mmm, this is heaven," she purred, eyes closed. "Care to join me, stud?"

Clark gulped, realising he could now see Lois' beautiful body beneath the suds as they'd somehow dispersed to reveal the very parts people usually go out of their way to conceal - supple round breasts and a clearly visible landing strip just above her most intimate spot. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to get in the tub with her and have her lying back against him. They'd done that before in Iceland, during their honeymoon tour which had taken in several different countries. She would writhe against him and it drove him wild though he tried to contain himself. He needed to contain himself now as his mouth suddenly felt very dry and his pants suddenly felt very tight.

"W-why would I do that?" he replied, kicking himself inside for sounding like a shy schoolboy. He was losing the battle again.

"Because it's _sooo_ relaxing," Lois purred again, smiling and still with her eyes closed. She had no doubt what his face looked like at this very moment.

Clark had to get out of there before she could torture him some more. He was glad he had the readymade excuse of being Superman and needing to save the day.

"Uh, Lois…I think I hear a…a situation…needs saving. I'll be right back," he stammered, stepping back out of the bathroom, closing the door and whooshing away.

"Saving, my ass," Lois chuckled to herself. "Face it Smallville, I'm getting to you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Superman was whizzing through the night skies, desperately hoping for a situation that required his assistance. Tuning his super-hearing into the police frequency of a patrol car down below, there was a robbery in progress down by the riverfront. Swooping down, he headed to the vicinity of the robbery, nabbing the culprit and tying him to a tree using a nearby bike rack to hold him in place. An officer on foot turned up there and then, thanking him for catching the culprit. Superman nodded and was on his way again.

Even though he was wearing his breathable neoprene suit, he still felt constricted down below. The vision of a naked Lois in the tub wasn't clearing from his mind, and he needed another distraction. He got it when he heard the screams of a group of teenagers trapped in their car after it had spun out of control and overturned in a ditch. The fuel lines had ruptured in the impact and an explosion was only seconds away. He sped down towards the wreckage, scanning the occupants to see whether they were alive and what state of injury they were in. A few bumps and scrapes but no broken bones. He used his arctic breath to cool the vehicle's underside and freeze the pipes, which would buy him some more time. Tearing one of the doors and part of the roof away to remove the most in-peril occupant first, he then lifted the vehicle out of the ditch and righted it, only then removing the other two occupants. They were all dazed and shocked but grateful. Telling them to wait by the side of the road, he flew off to find the nearest emergency vehicles and led them to where the accident had happened so they could treat the injured. Another save down.

His hearing picked up other distress calls but nothing that required his intervention. He still wasn't ready to go back home and needed something to take his mind off Lois. A quick-ish jaunt across the globe was just the ticket. Flying high above the clouds and well clear of any aircraft or satellites, the view of Earth always gave Clark a sense of calm. This hunk of rock, millions of light years away from where Krypton could once be found, was his home and everything and everyone he cared about was down there, going about their day-to-day lives, oblivious to just how tiny and insignificant they were in the grand scheme of things. Despite growing up as a human and having very human emotions, it fascinated him as to how and why humans always looked to learn more, to see more and to want more out of life. He understood the overwhelming feelings astronauts always talked about when asked what Earth looked like from space.

Mind sufficiently cleared, he headed back down to terra firma and his apartment in Metropolis. The tell-tale whoosh as he entered caused Lois to turn around on the couch. She was wearing sweats and a tank top, and was watching TV having prepared the simple chicken salad they'd be eating tonight. Clark was relieved. A quick spin and he was out of his suit and into his comfortable jeans and t-shirt combo.

"Hey stranger. You were gone for a long time. You weren't avoiding me were you?"

Clark went to the fridge to pour himself some orange juice before sitting down beside her.

"Me? Why would I be avoiding you Lois? I had to criss-cross the country to help some people in trouble. It just took a bit longer, that's all," he replied, not making eye contact.

Lois decided to take pity on him. She'd made him squirm enough for today, and while he was out, she'd been thinking about how she can get him all flustered again tomorrow if necessary.

"Don't know about you but I'm hungry," Lois stated as she got up, turning off the TV. Clark joined her at the dining table. The rest of the evening saw a ceasefire in their little game.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4.**

The battle for one-upmanship continued the next day. It was probably the key to the longevity of their relationship. Though they'd become friends, then work partners, then close confidants, then lovers, then soulmates and finally husband and wife, they'd never let go of the playful competitiveness and back-and-forth banter of the early years. It kept things interesting. Of course they'd had their disagreements and fallouts but it never got as bad as it did for many other relationships. For Clark, Lois made him feel as normal as he'd ever been able to feel, always looking at the man before looking at the abilities, yet her belief in him underpinned his capacity for doing the extraordinary. For Lois, she felt that helping Clark remain grounded enabled Superman to soar, and he needed her in a way that she'd never felt needed by anybody else. There was a word for how they were around one another: chemistry.

Clark decided that while sex might have been off the menu, his ban shouldn't exclude the most basic of intimate closeness. The idea had come to him when he'd spotted Lois staring wistfully at their coffee maker at home. She hadn't bothered with any caffeine all week, not liking overly-sugary soft drinks or tea. She looked so forlorn that he'd simply wanted to kiss her and make it all better. He hadn't even been allowed to kiss her all week and realised just how much he took for granted these little moments of affection. Why not have a little fun with that?

Lois was working on amendments to her draft from yesterday after Perry had sent it back to her with recommendations. The prose had suggested a little too strongly that the Daily Planet had solved the mystery. While that was true for the most part, Perry suggested that Lois talk up the hard work of Met PD much more, and throw in a few more quotes of the 'sources say' variety to given extra credence to the claims. Perry was much more familiar with the politics of dealing with the city's higher-ups, and knew that a little quid pro quo would garner the paper and his reporters some of the best scoops. He had to think about what was best for business in an industry that was increasingly feeling the pinch as the public sought their daily news fix in other ways.

Clark was pouring himself his third cup of coffee this morning, something Lois thought unusual as he wasn't that big a coffee drinker.

"Hey Clark, come check this out. I'm trying to quote an anonymous source for this part. Do you think I should write that they corroborated the evidence or that they were the original source? Also, how do you spell 'corroborate'?

Clark stepped round to her desk, leaning over her shoulder as he read her draft. He picked up the floral scent of her perfume and took a deep breath. While his own idea was good, the close proximity wasn't helping his cause. As she stared deep in concentration at the screen, he took a sidelong glance at her lips - glossy with the natural look of her lipstick. Turning back to the article, he took in the sentence she was forming to see how it fit with the narrative around it.

Taking a big sip of his coffee, he offered his opinion.

"Looks to me like this source is confirming what the first one suggested, so I'd go with 'corroborate'. That's C-O-R-R-O-B-O-R-A-T-E."

She'd actually spelled it correctly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Thanks Smallville," she answered, turning to face him with the little smile she reserved for him after getting his help.

"You're welcome," Clark replied, planting a kiss.

She was surprised by it, but more than that was the taste of coffee. She glared at him as he returned to his desk. What was he up to?

Clark let an hour pass before staging the next attack. He'd written a quote in his article and wanted Lois' opinion on where it was best to include it. He had a feeling she would recommend he include the quote earlier as it featured a juicy little detail that would make the story more interesting from the off.

Lois walked over and leaned over his shoulder in much the same way he'd done earlier. He ignored the floral scent, reaching for his coffee to take another sip as she read his article. Any second now, Lois would confirm what he already knew. It was one of the guiding principles of her fabled Rules of Reporting, to put all the best stuff at the beginning.

"If you use the word 'attacker' instead of 'assailant', the reader will be more riveted in the story. And put it in at the end of the first paragraph," she advised.

Clark smiled. "Great. Thanks!" he replied before kissing her once again. Lois took leave of her senses for a few seconds, deepening the kiss to satisfy her own craving before stopping and pulling away suddenly. He tasted of coffee again.

"Oh no you don't!" she admonished him with a piercing stare, slapping him on the arm and walking away again.

Clark shrugged his shoulders as if he hadn't understood what the fuss was about. Still, those two little kisses had left him wanting more. Soft, tender, familiar…

* * *

After lunch, Clark and Lois had headed back when Clark heard a cry for help. At the same time, the TV in the corridor showed a breaking news story about an earthquake in California. Lois immediately understood Clark's dilemma, automatically knowing how to cover his sudden absence should anyone ask for him. She walked into the office and switched on the small TV, turning over to the news channel to follow the earthquake story.

Speeding out of sight through the corridor, Clark went to tackle the cry for help first. It was a young woman who'd been carjacked with her three month old daughter still inside. She was in a part of town where not many people would stop to help given that dangerous street gangs hung around. When Superman got there, the woman was understandably frantic and crying. Seconds later, the carjacker had been stopped by heavy traffic. Superman caught up, yanking the door open and pulling the carjacker out onto the ground. A passing patrol car saw Superman and moved over to find out what was happening. Superman explained to the officer that he'd apprehended a would-be car thief before telling him there was a woman waiting around the corner. The officer left the carjacker with Superman, driving off to find the woman.

She'd not been hard to spot, so the officer offered the woman a ride to where Superman was waiting. The baby was thankfully still sound asleep in the back of the woman's car, and the car itself was not damaged at all. The carjacker was arrested for the crime, as well as for possessing drugs and an unlicensed firearm. The woman thanked the officer and Superman, obviously relieved.

Superman now had to dash off towards Silicon Valley, where the earthquake had caused relatively minor structural damage to buildings. However, a bridge had partially collapsed, trapping a few motorists and injuring dozens more. There were no fatalities. Clark arrived and surveyed the scene. The bridge wasn't in danger of collapsing any further so the immediate danger had passed. Superman moved to the collapsed section, lifting it back into place and using his heat vision to provide a temporary fix to the steelwork. It would hold for the time being but the bridge would have to be closed to carry out a thorough structural repair.

The police, fire service and EMTs were all at the scene as motorists were advised to leave their cars and belongings and head to safe ground past the end of the bridge. The US Army had been drafted in and other rescue services were helping with the effort. Only one vehicle had suffered significant damage, trapping its driver and crushing his left leg. Clark helped ease access to him for the rescue teams by slowly removing the caved-in door and the rubble around it. Once they'd secured the injured man on a stretcher, Superman carefully airlifted him to a waiting ambulance. He would be taken to the local hospital for immediate treatment.

The crowds cheered as Superman went on his way. Once again, the country's hero had stopped a serious incident from turning into a full-blown crisis.

One thing his flights helped him to do was to gather his thoughts and consider how he'd handled a situation. It wouldn't do to perform rescues only to create further problems for those he'd rescued, so he had to ensure they were left in the best care, with as little damage as possible to their personal property. He wasn't a vigilante working in the shadows. He had a public face and image to go with peoples' expectations of him, so reckless actions and decisions had bigger consequences. The time in the air had also given him time to learn how to compartmentalise traumatic experiences, so his Clark Kent persona wasn't betrayed by issues he dealt with as Superman. This is what enabled him to return to work, to return home and to return to his wife with a clear conscience.

* * *

When Clark came back to the office, he found Lois leaning against the little stepladder while holding a shoe. Maybe she'd broken a heel. Maybe she was taking her shoes off in order to climb the stepladder. Either way, she had her back to the door so Clark got a great view of her shapely ass and long legs. As though she'd been expecting him, she turned around.

"Clark, good job today at the bridge. They're saying there were no fatalities."

"Yeah, it was lucky the foundations had been upgraded last year. They absorbed the brunt of it."

This was another reason why he could carry two personas. Lois had learned to separate the two and didn't dwell on his saves. She never took them or him for granted but she understood that he needed to be able to take a step back. To live and to love. It lightened the heavy burden. It was a lifetime away from when she'd felt overwhelmed by his burden, feeling that it should be a 24/7 commitment. She'd been so close to permanently ending their relationship once because being gifted with his powers for one day had taken such a toll on her emotionally.

Right now though, she needed him for his height.

"Could you climb up and get those two files from the top shelf."

"You can't reach up there?" he responded. It was strange that she was having trouble reaching the shelf all of a sudden. She'd usually find a way.

"I would but…" she stepped closer to him and whispered in a sultry tone, "…I'm not wearing any underwear." She touched the corner of her mouth with her tongue and winked at him.

Clark's heart did a back flip as his pulse rose. Was she telling the truth? It didn't matter because he was now imagining standing beneath her while she was up on a tall ladder reaching for something on a shelf very high up - the back of her calves and thighs showing muscle definition as she stretched up, skirt rising, uncovered ass cheeks, legs slightly apart and all that lay in between. _Soft, supple, warm, mmm…_ If he wanted to, he could have used his x-ray vision to check whether she really was or wasn't wearing any underwear, and even what colour they were, but he'd always insisted he wouldn't use his abilities in that way. Any human male on the planet, if blessed with such abilities, _would_ use them for exactly such a purpose.

Lois bent right over, again facing away from him, to put her shoe back on. It wasn't the ideal way to put a shoe back on but it offered a tantalising opportunity to see any tell-tale giveaways to prove it.

Clark couldn't allow himself to fall for it so he floated up to retrieve the files she'd asked for. So much for the spell in the air clearing his mind.

It didn't get any easier for him when, a little later on, he heard Lois yelp in pain. She claimed to have been bitten or stung while seated at her desk. Clark swiftly got up to have a look, only for Lois to hitch her skirt up tantalisingly close to her panty line, telling him she'd been stung on her inner thigh. She even took his hand so he could 'feel' where it was. Like a fool, he'd initially fallen for the ruse, but when she took his hand and rubbed it closer between her legs, he flinched his hand back and stared at her disapprovingly.

Once again, she'd left him to think on what might have been. He sat down in frustration as his brain made him recall the soft skin and nearby warmth. The end of the week could not come soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5.**

Clark was sat at his desk clock-watching. He'd finished his work over an hour ago and even though he'd dragged out the process of tidying up both his desk and his emails, the end of his working day had been disinclined to arrive quickly enough. A game of online poker had ended too abruptly and there had been nobody in need of rescuing. The minute hand on the clock above the door looked like it had come to a standstill, just two minutes before 9:00 in the evening. He glanced down at the clock in the corner of his computer screen, and that was running a further minute behind. He could have sworn it had read 8:57 when he'd glanced at it ten minutes ago. Turning to his watch, it showed 8:58. Somehow, time had stood still and needed a reboot.

Lois was busily tapping away at her keyboard, putting the finishing touches to a filler article for Perry. They had a working arrangement where she got first dibs on the biggest stories if she also took time to do the occasional small filler articles normally left for cub reporters. That way, it didn't look like favouritism and Perry could avoid having a queue of disgruntled reporters lining up outside his door. So preoccupied was she that she was oblivious to both the time and the presence of her partner sat at the desk opposite.

Given the late hour, everybody on their floor had gone home so they were completely alone. Perry was probably already on a plane sipping club sodas on his way to a conference in sunny San Francisco. Sometimes it was a tough gig, being the editor-in-chief of a major newspaper.

Eventually, the clock on the wall struck 9:00 and with that, Clark turned off his computer and stretched back in his chair. Unlike down in the bullpen, these chairs were executive leather ones, and well oiled at that, so their old game of squeaky chairs no longer worked. Lois was still wrapped up in her article. Maybe it required a less subtle approach. He slowly got up from his chair and made his way over to the window, drawing the blinds shut and shielding them from view of any prying eyes from the building across the street. It made no difference to the brightness of the office since the lights were already on. Again, Lois' attention never moved from her computer screen. This was going to need the equivalent of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. He decided to move with an air of insouciance over to the small windows either side of the office door, drawing the blinds there too. If Lois had noticed anything, she was doing a great job of hiding it. Was she toying with him? What he didn't know was that she'd finished her work and sent it to Perry a while ago, but she didn't want Clark to think she'd also been clock-watching.

Then it hit Clark. The table against the side wall, upon which was the coffee maker - half full and still fresh having been brewed by him less than thirty minutes ago in yet another attempt to annoy Lois - paper cups, napkins, stirrers and a small basket filled with packets of sugar, sweeteners and small containers of milk. He would have to hit her where it hurts in order to get her attention. As casually as possible, he opened the office door before walking back to the coffee station and wheeling it out into the corridor. It was ten seconds at most but it was enough to finally get Lois' eyes away from her computer screen. Clark calmly stepped back into the office, closing the door behind him and locking it with the key Lois didn't know he had. He put the key in his pants pocket before looking back at Lois, arms folded.

"You did not just do that?" growled Lois, narrowing her eyes through her glasses.

Clark knew she would react to the provocation, but she would not be expecting what happened next. Lois leapt out of her chair and walked towards him with a touch of menace before her eyes caught the time. It read 9:02 so technically, they'd now gone a full working week without the one thing they each craved. But now that her cup of salvation was outside the locked office, this meant war.

"Hand me the key Clark," she continued in an insistent tone, putting her palm out. She was in no mood for games now.

"Try and get it," challenged Clark, definitely in the mood for games.

Lois sensed a challenge was in the offing and immediately went to reach for his pocket but he swiftly grabbed her arm, looking her square in the eyes. Without even realising it, she'd taken two steps backwards as Clark took a couple of small paces forward, her arm still being held away from his pants pocket and their eyes still locked. She'd been backed into the wall with her face barely six inches from his. Her demeanour changed in an instant from 'take no prisoners' to 'helpless love slave' and she gulped involuntarily. There was no red kryptonite in sight and no rhyme or reason to suggest Clark had been exposed to it, yet his current confident and dominant behaviour was oh so similar. She searched for the tell-tale red glint in his eyes but found none.

Clark moved closer still, closing off all avenues of escape, never taking his eyes off Lois'. He placed his hands on the wall either side of her. It made her breath hitch and her pulse quicken. She could feel the heat radiating off him and it resulted in her own neck suddenly feeling very warm. She could almost feel the blood trickle southwards making a beeline for her groin, and she was certain she was now moist down there. Allowing herself to inhale the sexually charged air in front of her, she could pick up the masculine scent that was all Clark as well as a whiff of the cologne he used occasionally. The combination was enough for her to want to succumb to his whims. Nothing made Lois go weak at the knees more than Clark in alpha male mode.

Clark knew Lois so well, he knew what effect he was having on her and it turned him on immensely. Her sweet perfume mingled with her own natural scent was a fragrance his senses craved. He could also feel the blood heading southwards to his groin, but only slowly and steadily so as not to become uncomfortably tight within his boxers. He removed one hand from the wall, tracing it down the side of her cheek and guiding her glasses away from her face, placing them on the wall unit beside her. He could now see her eyes clearly - those hazel orbs making it clear just how much he had a hold over her. Allowing himself the faintest trace of a smile, he pulled his face mere centimetres from hers.

Again, her reaction was almost involuntary. The part of her brain that controlled her thoughts was telling her not to let him take control of the situation but the part that responded to stimuli wanted him to take her here and now. It was the second part that was winning the battle, resulting in her parting her lips just as Clark grazed his over them. He applied more pressure, parting them further as he claimed her.

Lois instantly threw her arms around his neck as the kiss grew more and more heated. Tongues came into play next as each greedily attempted to invade the other's space. Neither had any idea how long this intense kiss had lasted but Lois had to part and shift her face to take in some air. Clark carried on kissing and sucking down her jaw, throat and neck, eliciting heavy pants and moans from Lois. When she felt she'd taken in enough oxygen, she hungrily pulled his face back up to claim his lips again.

Clark started to unbutton her blouse, pulling it apart with ease as it revealed the bra encasing her beautiful breasts. He lifted her higher up against the wall and moved his head down to her breasts, kneading them and tracing hot wet kisses over the top of them. Lois moaned once more and wrapped her legs around his waist, and he used the moment to taunt her knowing how she would reply.

"Are you sure you don't want that coffee?"

"Shut up Smallville," she panted. "And fuck me!"

That was all he needed to hear. Pinning her to the wall, he deftly undid his belt and pulled his pants and boxers down, letting his cock spring free as he stepped out of them. The two of them had been making love for probably seven years now but he couldn't recall a time when his cock felt so stiff and ready. Lois had already hitched her skirt up and was tugging her underwear down. Clark helped her by pulling them all the way down and off, never moving his groin away from her to ensure she could feel his desire.

He pulled his head away a bit so he could look her in the eye again. She saw he had that devilish gleam in his eye, and it made her bite her bottom lip. She knew he loved that. His free hand moved down between her legs, following the outline of her pussy's outer lips and feeling the warmth and slickness. The scent of her arousal was now in the air. Lois reached down and wrapped her hand around his cock, stroking it from balls to tip and guiding it towards the entrance to her promised land. Clark took care of the rest, pushing it through the gate and all the way in in one fell swoop.

Lois gasped at the feeling of being filled so completely. She always marvelled at how he seemed to touch every nerve inside, overwhelming her with pleasure as the walls of her vagina gripped and fought to pull him in deeper still. He was large enough to bump against her cervix. Clark loved the feeling of being inside - so wonderfully warm, moist and tight. It felt like her vaginal walls were massaging every nerve ending. He stepped back from the wall and put both his hands on Lois' ass to allow him to plunge in further. Lois was just as desperate for this so she wrapped her legs around his waist again, linking them behind him.

Normally, stamina and being able to prolong his orgasm were not an issue for him. He could go for longer than any human and was careful not to be over-vigorous so as to cause physical harm. He also preferred to hold off his own orgasm until Lois was ready to explode herself - the afterglow lasting for much longer after their mutual satisfaction. In general, he was the type who preferred rhythmic love making to animalistic rutting, and he usually liked to explore Lois' body to its fullest. In particular, he liked to savour the sweet scent and honeyed texture and flavour when he used his tongue to tantalise her hidden depths. He'd often mentioned her high sugar intake as a dangerous precursor to developing diabetes but on the flip side, it meant she always tasted delicious. He had no other frame of reference as his first time indulging in oral sex was with Lois, but he could not imagine anything being better. It always drove her wild.

Tonight though, it was about animalistic rutting after being 'blue balled' all week, but it all felt too fast and he wasn't sure he was going to last much longer. He had to get Lois off at least before he himself did, and that required a change of position no matter how wonderful it felt to have Lois bucking up and down as he remained standing up. For that, he would do something he'd never done before because he was still pretty conservative and shy about sex. Until now, the most risqué thing he had done was to have Lois give him a blowjob while he was sat at her desk.

He hadn't been expecting it at the time, and had had to pretend he was busy doing some research when Perry had walked in to ask him to push forward a deadline. A tricky situation had left him on the edge of mortification as he strained to keep a relaxed posture and focus on his boss' questions without looking at him while Lois teased him artfully, using her tongue to glide up and down his length, her teeth to gently bite down on the sensitive tip, and her lips to swallow him whole. An impressive feat of stimulation to bring him to the very edge of completion.

Fortunately, Perry hadn't seen what Lois was doing beneath her desk so he never had any inkling as to what his star reporters were presently up to. At one point, Lois bumped her head against the underside of the desk, causing Clark to lie that he'd bumped his knee. Perry was still none the wiser. Clark had erupted down Lois' throat the second Perry had walked out of the office. As dangerous a situation as that had been, it was worth it for the naughty grin on Lois' face as she got back out and wiped her face. In all honesty, Clark had loved the danger of it but nothing like that had ever happened again.

Until now. Even allowing himself to think for a second about misadventures past was unhelpful in his current predicament. Taking charge of the moment once more, he lifted Lois off his throbbing cock and leaned her over the edge of her desk, not caring about the stack of files and the stationery pot which crashed to the floor, spilling its contents everywhere. He stepped back behind her, stroking his cock to get a feel of Lois' juices that had liberally coated it, before thrusting back into her doggy style.

This elicited a different and louder moan from Lois as she felt another part of her walls get the brunt of the stimulation. All she could do was hold on for dear life as her pussy sucked him in even deeper. Her g-spot was now ground zero for stimulation and she was closer to getting off. To help achieve this, she clambered up onto the desk so she was now on her knees, not caring that she'd sent her computer screen crashing backwards into Clark's computer. Her head nestling down on the desk, her back arched, her rear raised upwards, a new angle of attack for Clark.

"Holy fuck! Haaarderrr!" she yelled.

Clark responded with a vigour he never knew he had. Pounding all the way in and out, his balls slapped against her each time he buried himself to the hilt, getting faster and faster. Less than thirty seconds later, everything was a blur.

Lois had an earth-shattering orgasm of the sort she'd never had before, not even with Clark. She screamed the office walls down as her pussy clamped down onto Clark even tighter than before. The nerves in her g-spot and on her clit sent the message to her brain that this was the big one. The fire ignited within her loins, causing her toes to curl up, her hands to ball into fists and her hips to buck sharply upwards and gush a stream of clear cum through and out even while Clark was still buried deep within her. It coated his balls, dribbling down onto the desk and onto the floor. Her legs began to spasm as her arms reached out in front of her to grab hold of anything. Her eyes shut tightly but even if they were open, she probably wouldn't have been able to see anything. The intensity was beyond anything she'd ever experienced.

The feeling of Lois's pussy squeezing his cock even tighter summoned up his own climax. The familiar tingle in his balls, the tightening up of his haunches and the feeling of movement along the underside his cock were the tell-tale signals that he was now also there. He thrust once more with abandon, erupting into Lois what felt like a gallon of cum as he let out a guttural roar. It left him light-headed as he held onto Lois' hips for dear life, panting and trying to catch his breath.

It might have been brief, but it was two people indulging their most primal instincts and it was epic.

Lois was now in the throes of a comedown, and her body shivered as it recovered from the release of endorphins. Jolts of electricity flowed up and down her spine. This was so far beyond anything she'd ever had before and it rendered her speechless. All she could do was lay in the same position, panting and moaning as the spasms in and around her core eased down. Clark pulled his now semi-flaccid cock out of her, triggering another little spasm which sent a small trickle of their combined orgasms out and onto the edge of her desk. It was only now that it dawned on him as to what they'd just done, and he felt both a wave of euphoria and a tinge of relief that nobody was around outside the office. It didn't take a genius to work out what all those noises were.

She gradually eased herself down so her feet were back on the floor, still holding onto the desk as she strived to regain a sense of balance. She had to blink a couple of times to restore her blurred vision. Clark watched her as he retrieved his pants and boxers before putting them back on in double-quick time. Somewhere along the line, his shirt had popped a few buttons and his tie was half-askew.

"That…was…" she sighed contentedly.

"Yeah," agreed Clark. "Still want that coffee?"

Lois turned to him positively beaming, pulling him close by his tie and landing another passionate kiss before shoving him in the chest, wordlessly telling him to 'shoo'. She was still breathing hard and it still felt like molten lava between her legs. Within the space of a few seconds, Clark had sped out of the locked office, freshened up in the men's room and fetched Lois her much-needed coffee in a paper cup. She looked at him and laughed.

"Clark, what I actually want is to go home. I can't go around looking like this so I'll need to hitch a ride on the Kent Express if you don't mind."

It was Clark's turn to laugh. As Lois began to get dressed, he cleaned up some of the mess on the desk using napkins before replacing the items that had fallen off. The cleaners would be coming by in the early hours and he didn't want them to see evidence of what he and his wife had been up to.

Lois was still unsteady as she tried to put her shoes back on, and her clothes looked a little worse for wear so he agreed to super-speed them back to their apartment. A trying week was at least ending on a high.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6.**

Though it always disorientated her, she loved travelling at super-speed. The human body wasn't designed to move at such speeds but when she was in Clark's arms, she felt protected from the worst it could do to her. She'd learned that it was best to just close her eyes and take a deep breath before they took off. Holding on wasn't really a requirement because she knew he'd never let go of her.

On this occasion, the cooling breeze was a bit of a godsend because not only did it calm the fire still burning within, but it allowed her to clear her head. She'd never had an orgasm rip through her entire body and activate every nerve before. Was it because she'd deprived Clark all week, thus making him devour her with more intensity? Whatever it was, she was going to try it again soon. Not today though. She wasn't averse to another session tonight, just that it needed to be one that was more about enjoying Clark and savouring the intimacy.

They entered their apartment still basking in the afterglow, before Lois announced that she was going to take a shower. Clark simply watched her head for the bedroom. He'd be needing a shower too. He usually used the walk-in shower in the mornings while Lois hogged the en suite, so he kept a few items of his in there to use - towels, shower gel, shampoo and so on.

Making his way to the bathroom, he could hear that Lois had started running the shower. She'd take much longer than he did so hot water wasn't an issue. This place was much better for marathon showers than the Kent farmhouse because the hot water never ran out. He quickly got out of his clothes and tossed them in the hamper in the corner before getting in and starting his shower. Mere minutes later, he was done and drying off. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom.

As expected, Lois was still in the shower. It occurred to him that it was now the weekend and neither of them needed to be in until Monday. Why not make the most of it? Earlier, it had been about need, but now it could be about passion. He made his mind up and headed for the en suite. Slowly opening the door, he could make out the curvy silhouette of Lois behind the shower curtain. The fragrance of whatever body wash she was using hung in the air amidst the rising steam.

Lois must have developed her own x-ray vision at some point because it was as though she'd been expecting him. Pulling the shower curtain aside, she stood in the middle of the bathtub - water cascading over her shoulders and down her chest, over and around her beautiful breasts, down her torso and legs. Gently, she reached over to Clark and took him by the arm, leading him to step into the tub and the shower with her. His towel fell away as he did so. Seconds away, round two!

"I need you to massage my back for me Smallville," she said in a husky voice.

Clark Junior was up and ready for duty in an instant. Clark stepped behind her and began to lightly knead the small of her back, using his thumbs to apply the pressure upwards and outwards. Lois let a contented moan escape her lips as his hands steadily trailed up beneath her shoulder blades - fingers caressing her sides and making the slightest contact with her breasts. Though fully beneath the hot spray, it made her shiver in anticipation. Clark's hair had become mussed under the spray as he leaned down to apply soft kisses to the back of Lois' neck and shoulders. She put her hands behind her back and took hold of Clark's throbbing cock, stroking it up and down with both hands. She felt his breath hitch with his lips on her skin as she continued to stroke him.

Clark took charge again, turning her around and claiming her lips with his. The kiss was every bit as intense as the one in the office. His tongue traced the inside of her lips before she sucked in his lower lip and bit down, tugging on it as she pulled away again, smiling. She looked him in the eye purposefully, and then slowly got down on her knees. Taking hold of him once more, she began licking and kissing her way up the underside of his length, then took the head of his cock into her mouth and leaned forward to swallow half his length. All Clark could do was sigh as the nerves in his cock sparked when encased within the warmth and wetness. As she let the hot shower water mingle with her saliva, Lois took in the masculine scent mixed with the scent of shower gel which created a combination unique and utterly intoxicating to her. Putting her hands on his ass, she sucked him in deeper, letting her tongue continue to minister the underside down to his balls. That was sure to get him off.

As good as that felt, Clark wasn't having any of it. He didn't want her to bring him off this way, at least not before he'd returned the favour. He let her mix it up for several minutes before removing himself from her mouth, and raised her chin to look her in the eye. The glint in his own baby blues again had the effect of making her gulp. Despite what she'd just treated Clark to, it still caused her cheeks to flush. Continuing to raise her chin with his fingertips, Lois slowly rose to her feet again. Clark led her to sit against the edge of the tub, moving in to claim her lips once more. This was a softer, more mellow kiss.

As Lois moaned, Clark removed his lips from hers and down the side of her face, finding the pulse point on her throat in the way that she loved. This sent a surge of electricity up to her brain and back down her spine, involuntarily making her thrust her hips. Without removing his lips, he used them along with his tongue all the way down to her breasts, kneading each in turn as she roved an erect nipple, sucking it into his mouth and nipping at it. Lois had her hands around the back of his head, trying to guide him further south.

He responded by kissing his way down to her navel, feeling Lois shift into his face. He knew what she wanted and he was prepared to tease his way there. Parting her legs even wider, he continued to place soft kisses along her inner thighs, bringing his face closer and closer to her pussy. He could feel the heat radiating off it as her honeyed aroma mingled with the hot shower spray and lingered in the steam. Then he went on the attack.

He ran his tongue ever so lightly along the centre, up towards her clit before sucking it in. The sensation had Lois mewling and panting hard, bucking against him with one hand on his head. The opening salvo was enough to get her juices going. As he'd done with her clit, he placed his tongue between the folds, parting them and running his tongue just inside her, eliciting a yelp as he sucked one of her folds into his mouth. He could taste her now so the follow-up was having an effect. It was still all about slow and sweet rather than fast and intense, so he moved his tongue and lips away from Lois' pussy and returned to leaving slow licks and kisses on her inner thighs. He'd started and she needed him to finish.

"Don't stop!" came the exulted whisper.

"Wouldn't dream of it," came the reply.

Clark took a second to look up at Lois' face, all flushed with eyes close and mouth wide open. She raised one leg and rested her foot on the edge of the tub, wanting him to tackle the other side. The tingle of expectation was too much for her. He dipped his face back down and returned to working on her inner thighs, feeling the heat flowing from her core as though it was trying to exhale. Using his fingers, he prised apart her pussy lips and dove in with his tongue to catch the small trickle of nectar seeping out. That caused Lois to grab onto his head with both hands, pushing his lips and tongue even deeper.

"Right there, that's it!" Lois panted, trying to fuck his tongue.

As euphoric as she felt, it was still pretty uncomfortable for her to lean against the wall. Her back was beginning to ache. She was also out of the way of most of the shower spray and so the goosebumps that had formed on her skin were not just because of the effect Clark was having on her. She wanted to be back under the spray but most of all, she needed him inside her again. Making it her turn to take charge, he shoved Clark backwards so he was sitting in the tub before she climbed onto his lap.

Capturing his mouth with another searing kiss, she took hold of his cock and sank down onto it - her legs either side of his waist behind him. She now wanted to ride him to completion in a slow and rhythmic dance of sensual abandon, a far cry from the frantic animalistic liaison of just under an hour ago. She would later ask herself where she'd found the stamina, but stamina she still had in abundance.

Moving up and down his length and trying to pull him in as deep as he could go, the feeling of fullness had her in raptures once more. Meeting Clark's lips, she opened her mouth to push her tongue inside as Clark did the same. She released her lips from his but continued to suck on his tongue, tasting her own juices. She invited him to take her tongue in his mouth, holding it out as he ran his lips over it.

Lois held off her orgasm for as long as possible, simply revelling in the feeling of her walls being invaded once again. The hot water from the shower had helped raise her body temperature leaving her skin looking flushed, her lips swollen and her pussy engorged. At the onset of her orgasm, her groin pushed into Clark's even further and she arched her back, grabbing his shoulders. The muscles inside her pussy went into overdrive, trying to milk Clark of his seed. Once he could feel that Lois was on the brink, he grabbed her ass and thrust upwards one final time before releasing. Instead of the torrent of earlier, this was several hot, short, sharp spurts, each and every one felt by her.

"Wow!" breathed Lois. "If that's what I get for making you hold out for a week, I should do that more often!"

"Now you know what you've been missing, I think you'll have a hard time making me wait," Clark retorted.

The water had begun to cool but neither had noticed. They simply sat in the tub in the same position, engaging in idle chit chat and a little bit of making out. After all, what was the rush? Here were two people with a shared destiny. Whatever bad times lay around the corner, that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy the good times.

"Smallville?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna need that coffee soon."

And like _that_ , normality had returned.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7.**

Three weeks had passed since the Daily Planet's charity drive for the homeless shelter. The newspaper did three of four of these charity drives each year, and each year they raised tens of thousands of dollars for good causes such as local children's hospitals, aid packages for poverty stricken families in war-torn parts of the world, or charities doing cancer research. The paper usually publicised its work for good causes in print but if valuable funds found their way to these causes, a little publicity wasn't a bad thing.

The mood at the Planet during charity week had been fairly grumpy it was fair to say, as staff struggled to abstain from their chosen vices. Nobody complained about donating money and indeed several people doubled up despite genuinely abstaining, and others were forced to double up after caving in to temptation - Clark and Lois fell into the former category, Perry was in the latter - but the grumpiness was purely down to finding it so difficult to stay away from things people took for granted. Still, the homeless shelter would be able to upgrade its facilities and provide more for those in need over the coming holiday period. It was all worth the effort.

Lois had been a bundle of nerves for the past half an hour, pacing about the bathroom of the apartment as Clark fixed his tie beside the bedroom mirror.

"C'mon Lois, or we're gonna be late," he called out.

"I'm already late," came the reply.

Clark glanced at his watch. They still had thirty minutes or so to get to work, and it didn't take more than fifteen, even if traffic was a little heavy. Plenty of time then, so why would Lois think they were already late? Had she forgotten the time? Was she meant to be starting early?

He'd long since been able to tune into Lois' heartbeat, pretty much since they started working together, and he found it to have a calming effect on him. He'd learned to gauge her mood by listening to her heartbeat so he could generally tell when she was happy, relaxed, flustered or furious. It also doubled up as a homing beacon which was handy as he'd had to tune into it on a number of occasions to rescue her from whatever precarious situation she'd managed to wind up in. Recently though, her heartbeat sounded strange. The usual steady 'thump, thump, thump' was still there, but now it carried a slight echo - it was faint but to his trained ear, detectable. Her behaviour hadn't changed in that time so he'd put it to the back of his mind.

"We can still make it on time if we head out now," Clark called back.

Lois padded out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She had on her dark grey pantsuit with a lilac blouse underneath, and had chosen to wear her hair down. She usually only wore her glasses when working so her hazel eyes were clearly visible. Not only clearly visible, but displaying evident signs of panic.

"No Clark, I'm LATE!" she replied, raising her hand in which she was holding something - an electronic pregnancy test kit. The read-out display had a huge blinking tick in the centre with a smiley face beside it.

The second Clark turned to face Lois and spotted the kit in her hand, his own hands suddenly forgot how to tie a simple knot, or manipulate themselves in any way. It was as though his senses had taken leave of their senses. If his jaw could hit the floor and his eyebrows hit the ceiling cartoon style, they would have. A tiny part of his brain was telling him to say something. _Anything._

"Uh…a-are you sure?"

 _Yeah, maybe you should say something else, dumbass._

"Clark, I have tried three different kits and they're all telling me the same thing!" The sense of panic had yet to ebb away from her voice as she waved her arms frantically.

"So that means we're gonna…" Clark's brain was still struggling to formulate sentences.

Lois sighed, and in doing so her demeanour relaxed. The wild gesticulating gave way to slumped shoulders and weary eyelids. Slowly, she placed the cap back on the tester kit and tossed it on the bed. Stepping forward closer to Clark, she managed to find a softness in her voice.

"Looks that way."

She studied Clark's features, hoping to gain an insight on what he was feeling at this very moment. She'd just dropped the biggest bombshell on him.

Clark stood, arms either side, processing this information. The love of his life and the woman of his dreams had delivered the most stunning news he'd heard, well, _ever_. Raising his eyes to meet hers, he could see them begging for a reply to the affirmative. It told him that despite her initial panic, she'd come to accept and embrace the changes that would now be afoot. Just like that, her thoughts married perfectly to his own.

Clark did the only thing that made sense at this moment. His eyes lit up, the biggest dopiest grin he could muster formed on his face, and he stepped forward quickly to grab Lois by the waist and lift her up. In that instant, her own heart swelled with delight as her face mirrored his. She'd always thought he'd be happy with this but it really meant more that he'd made it clear how much this meant to him. She threw her arms around his neck and squealed with joy as he spun them around.

"I love you!" he spoke softly, eyes moist and ready to cascade tears of sheer happiness. Whatever else went on in his life, Lois Lane knew how to make his day. Right now, she'd also made his week, his month and his year. He was going to be a father.

He put her back down and kissed her for all he was worth. She returned the favour just as keenly before sighing against his lips and placing their foreheads together.

"I take it that means you're OK with this," she said with mock understatement.

"I am more than OK with this. This is amazing. We're gonna be parents!"

"Yeah," Lois replied, beaming. "We get our own little bundle of joy to mess up in our own unique way!"

Placing another gentle kiss on Clark, she pulled away again excitedly and began to babble.

"I gotta call Chloe and tell her the good news. Jonny will be so excited about having a little cuz to play with! And there's your mom, my dad, Luce…"

Clark walked back towards her, still smiling, and took her hands in his own to prevent her from reaching for her phone. It was a gesture she'd long since taken to mean that he had something important to say. It was his unspoken way of telling her to stop babbling.

"Lois, I want to tell everybody the good news too, but there's somebody else we need to tell first. Emil."

"I know the good doctor is on our Christmas card list, but why him first?"

Clark cleared his throat to soften his voice. "As great as this is, we are venturing into unknown territory here. A half-Kryptonian baby is a first. We don't really know how or _if_ it will be different to a normal pregnancy."

"Well I don't think it's just going to whoosh out of there tomorrow," she joked before getting serious again. "Look, I know it's a huge leap that we need to be sure about. Honey, if it puts your mind at ease, we'll call Emil first."

As Lois spoke, Clark also tuned into her heartbeat again. The little echo wasn't there any more. Instead, a tiny pulse between her beats could be detected. What he'd actually been hearing for the past couple of weeks were in fact the first heartbeats of his unborn child. He refrained from using his x-ray vision on her, instead placing a hand on her belly, over which she placed her own.

"We'll get Emil to do an ultrasound just to make sure there aren't any complications, and then we'll tell everybody. Deal?"

"Deal."

Clark put his arms around Lois' waist from behind, resting his chin between her neck and her shoulder. She melted into him.

"Some day soon, I might have trouble getting these hands to meet," Clark joked as he hinted at Lois ballooning in size. Before she could elicit a response, he held her tighter and added, "But at least they'll always be around someone I love."

Lois was touched by that. Though she would always deny it, she was a sucker for the mushy musings of Clark Kent. It always made her feel wanted and needed. Being Lois though, she couldn't help but retort.

"You are such a sap sometimes!" she said as she playfully nudged him in the ribs.

They had to get to work now, but they'd be calling Emil in the evening.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8.**

Dr Emil Hamilton was sat on a small swivel stool, alternating between watching the monitor and the patient lying on the bed in the exam room. Emil was still the calm, resourceful and highly intelligent man Lois had first met many years ago, yet it was evident how much the doctor had aged. The glasses and the thick sideburns were still there but the hair was significantly greyer and formed what was commonly known as a bird's nest. In a strange sort of way, to Clark it brought to mind an old acquaintance, Dr Frederick Walden. Emil's advancing years had added quite a paunch to his midsection too.

After receiving the call from Clark, he'd asked if they could come over to his private clinic after 8:00 that evening. He'd be finished with all his patients and now that he didn't work for the hospital, he didn't need to be on call. He'd be free to see Lois and another benefit was the added privacy required for such a special case. He was registered as Lois' physician, and Oliver had set him up with the lab facilities required to conduct blood tests and so on. He worked extensively with the Justice League and understood the absolute need for secrecy. This ultrasound screening was very early for a normal pregnancy but Emil agreed that this was an unusual case and one for which he needed a bit of a head start.

Lois was lying on the bed wearing her comfortable sweats which she'd rolled up to her chest so Emil could place the plastic sheets that prevented the ultrasound gel from running and staining her clothes. He was moving the scanner over her not-yet-showing belly and trying to pick up the sound waves to get a picture on screen. The regular rhythmic sound of a heartbeat could clearly be heard, and this allowed Lois to relax a little more.

"And here," Emil indicated as he pointed to a spot on the screen, "is your baby."

Clark was sat on the opposite side of the bed, holding her left hand in both of his, staring at the monitor with awe. The tiny little white thing that looked like a jelly bean was the thing that would change their lives forever from now on. Lois was also so busy staring at the monitor and smiling as she spotted the jelly bean, she didn't even notice Clark raise her hand and place a soft kiss on her palm. She was riveted by the future in front of her. Lois Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet, force of nature and former army brat, was going to be a mother.

"Is everything OK, Emil?" asked Clark.

Emil smiled. "So far so good. Healthy heartbeat, no unnatural biorhythms. I've still got to analyse your blood sample Lois, but so far I'd say everything looks pretty normal at this stage of the pregnancy."

Lois turned to Clark, gazing into his baby blues as she put her hand to his cheek. His own expression was one of both awe and exhilaration.

Emil spoke again. "Lois, have you had any of the usual symptoms? Morning sickness, cravings, uncomfortable cramps, back pain…"

"No. Actually, I feel really good. I guess I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm eating for two."

"Glad to hear it," replied Emil. "We'll stick to the regular schedule unless anything else comes up. I'll be your OB/GYN so your records don't fall into the wrong hands. And may I be the first to say 'Congratulations' to you both. I'm really happy for you."

"Thank Emil. We just wanted to be sure before we went around shouting from the rooftops. I still can't believe it. My dad and Chloe will be so psyched."

Emil pressed a few keys on the keyboard, and the photo printer beside it whirred into action to produce a crystal-clear copy of the image on the monitor. A keepsake for the mom and dad to be. He reached over to the counter behind him and handed Lois a towel to wipe the gel off her belly, and handed the photo to Clark as he stood up.

"You're always welcome guys. And remember, if you have any questions or feel any unusual changes, don't hesitate to drop by or call me," he added. "I'll call you once the blood results are in."

"Emil, you're a star," said Lois as she stepped over to give the doctor a hug.

Clark then stepped over, feeling a bit self-conscious all of a sudden. "Uh…maybe a handshake?"

Emil nodded and laughed, shaking Clark's hand.

"Now go on, get outta here. I have to lock up!" said Emil in jest.

After the couple had left, Emil got busy writing a few notes in Lois' personal file on his laptop, which he then placed in the hidden vault room behind the exam room. It housed all the Justice League files as well as his research on the effects of meteor rocks on different applications - a little side interest to his main work. However, this pregnancy was really going to be interesting.

* * *

Lois and Clark were strolling on the sidewalk in the night air, hand in hand as they made their way back to his truck parked around the corner.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" asked Clark, thinking up dinner plans.

"What do you think about triple choc ice cream?"

"If you want. Or I can dash to Tokyo to pick up some sushi or maybe Naples for some pizzas if you like."

"I wasn't asking _you_ , Smallville, I was asking my little one." Then with a sidelong smirk held long enough to get Clark's attention, "I think it agrees with me!"

Clark shook his head as they continued on. Such was life. You could sacrifice the things that you yearned for and really struggle to deal with it, only to end up with something altogether bigger and better than anything you could ever have imagined. The rest of the evening would be filled with ice cream, excited phone conversations and a slightly nervy Skype session. Clark wouldn't have changed any of it for the world. The last son of Krypton had found the peace he'd spent his life searching for in the arms of the one person he once thought was the antithesis of a peaceful life. All was well in Kal-el's world.

 _"When it comes to getting me Smallville,_ you _don't have what it takes!"_

How wrong did that turn out to be?

* * *

 **FIN.**


End file.
